Automatic control for skip buckets



Dec. 8, 1931. w. w. SAYERS AUTOMATIC CONTROL FOR SKIP BUCKETS Filed Jan. 25, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet l fizz/e 76-507" 77%6272 77535426795 Dec. 8, 1931. w, w. SAYERS AUTOMATIC CONTROL FOR SKIP BUCKETS Filed Jan. 23, 1950 5 sheets-sheaf; 2

Dec. 8, 1931.

w. w. SAYER$ AUTOMATIC CONTROL FOR SKIP BUCKETS Filed Jan. 25, 1930 '5 Sheets-Sheet 5 [RY/672507" 77%? 265772 W figzyenj flttafke ,s

Dec. 8, 1931. w. w. S-AYERS 1,835,094

AUTOMATIC CONTROL FOR SKIP BUCKETS Filed Jan. 23, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 8, 1931. w. w. SAYERS AUTOMATIC CONTROL FOR SKIP BUCKETS Filed Jan. 25, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Dec. 8, 1931 J: ems

[Avr L'r MJWt SAStERSg-OE c mera iLLINoIs, Assi no 'lo LINix-qBE LT- OMPANYQ F v emcaeoglpnmols n CORPOBATIONAOFJLLINQIS ncrro via bic commoni on-smnnucxa'rs Application file dlianuary 23,11930. Serial-No, 422,736.

invention relates: to improvements in :Sklp hoistsv and has for one obj 'ect to provide a new and improved icontrol' apparatus and 1 process whereby the fillingof the bucketimay y -be moresnicelyi controlled andzwhereby the -pauseior'idelay necessary. atstheend oithe sifi'llill .periodi to; insure complete fillingz and guard against clogging? of .the ,material tstream -andthe like maybe avoided; Qther nobjects :Will appear from time to. time ithroughout thespecification and claims. a

1 eReferring to such. skip ihoistas that show-n in myfiPat'ent No. 1,583,702, datedzMay 4th, .1926, {it will noted that when the .skipdeascendsycansing the spout to swing down into I 2 dischargeurelation with the open mouthof athe ski and causing the-gate to open, matej nialifiows from .thehopper. through the fixed chute, the pivotedchute or? spout into the skip E chute swings up ;as the skipjgoes up so'that apart of. the material left :in'lthe pivoted cliute 'beyond'the gateis discharged intothe skip to complete the load.

Experience, shows in connection vvith devices such; as' -thisEthat a'considerablelag or dela'ymust be provided 101mm; complete stilling of: the'skip; iIfth'e material is.-:dry

--; ski-p .vvithout delay 'andcund er those circumli 3;, i ist'ancesi the skipc could start up: ina very; few

seconds after it gets down. Onlatheizother --.hand,i We. may, have-1a materialiwhichyisiwet Ivor; thereimay be abridge. or partial bridge irtormed somewhere in i the." hopper. or chute i and-it. may requirequiteanappreciable time tor-theskip. to fill. {In order that-the skip emayinot: be carriedup. partially empty; it'is common, practice to set the automatic timing sand controlling mechanism so as to provide :fonthe longestnecessary delay tov take care of ithe Slowest, most sluggishpflowing mate- ,rial; :This meansove'r a days run; that Where 2 1110513. ofthe times theskipimight be loadedin a a second :or so, there} may be a; half dozen 5c; loads \nhereithe have to ivetenseconds and i y V D Figure 5 shows WllJlilSllQ skipffull;

, returned.

order to be safe-it iscnecessary to have 1 every load taketen seconds. j I-prop0se to provide automatic means to control "the-loading operation such that the skip may scam up just as-soon as it is filled. I propose "token-e trol the automatic" loading timing mean's by the actual fio'wor presence of materialin the skip; orin the pivoted'gate immediatelyiad- -jacen't the'skip: I

My invention is illustrated more orless ..-50 cllagraminatically [in 1 the 7 accompanying drawings wherein Figure llis a; diagrammatic side elevation shonilngthe skip empty. EB lgurefl' 1s a similar view lshowingthea-w skip full and about .tostart up; i

Figure 3 .is a similar view showing'the skip after it has, started up i i Figure lfshows a modified form with the A p mp yri i no the device of" Figure 4 \FiguresG and 7 show a further modified formivith the skip emptyand'fullf F gures 18' and ,9 show-a furthermodified M5- forms holwin g the skip empty and full. v

Llke parts are indicated bylike characters throughout the specification and" drawings.

A. A? engaging the tra'cki'fi 1A hoisting" eligine of any suitabletype is of course used to operate the skip and it is hoisted to some '85 elevatedpositionand thenjdump'ed and then B I is a" hopper having Ia fixed chute "B closed by an undercut gateiB J "Associated with theundercut gate is a. pivoted chute B which" when in the loading position is in alignment with the chute B and discharges into the open mouth of the skip. The'top of this chute is open but bafile plates B are 7 provided to cause material to bankup against them' 'and prevent spillage of material when material from the hopper flows down the :ifixed and pivoted chutes to-fill the skip and .bank up. in it and in the chutes. f ilzheskipenq vgages :the; pivoted chute Mandi as it's-starts up rotates the chute into the closed position, at the same time rotating the undercut gate to shut off flow though if desired the gate may be separately operated.

The lowermost of the baflie plates C instead of being fixed in the pivoted chute is pivoted therein. It is so positioned that it is located above the normal flow line of material as it flows freely down through the fixed and pivoted chute from the hopper to the skip but as material piles up in the mouth of the skip and backs up in the chute, this flowing stream of material backs up against or impinges upon the pivoted battle plate C, swings it to the right into the position shown in Figure 2, causing the tongue or lever C to engage the roller C on the switch C which switch controls a circuit through the cable C to the control panel to start the motor operating the hoisting engine. C is a limit rod or stop associated with the bracket C to constrain the angular displacement of the member only within predetermined limits. It will be obvious from this arrangement that as soon as the material backed up, the flowing material or the stream of material will build up to a point which impinges upon the baffle plate and causes operation of the switch but this switch operation cannot take place until such backing up has occurred and since such hacking up cannot occur until the skip is filled the hoisting engine will only be started when the skip is filled, thus avoiding delay.

In the modified form shown in Figures 4 and 5, everything is the same except that here we have aslightly different form of pivoted chute D with the undercut gate D generally integral with the chute and with the chute closed above and discharging at its side rather than at its end into the skip. In this arrangement the swinging plate D is on the end of the chute and projects into the skip but at a point where it is not attacked by the stream of material until the bucket is filled and material is backed up as shown in Figure 5; when the material is so backed up, the material swings the plate and causes the finger D to engage the switch button D on the switchD to start the motor. 7

In the further modified form shown in Figures 6 and 7 the switch E is mounted on the bottom of the loader chute and the wall of the bucket with the control. arm E extending through the wall of the bucket in opposition to the switch lever E VVhe-n the material backs up in the bucket itself not in the chute at all, switch operation takes place as shown in Figure 7. Of course, when the bucket starts up the rotation of the chute moves the switch lever E out of the path of the finger on the swinging plate.

In the arrangement shown in Figures 8 and 9, a further modification is shown. Here the switch F is on a bracket removed from the chute. The chute F is fixed. There is no pivoted chute, only an undercut gate F The swinging plate F is pivoted on the bucket. It has an arm F extending through a hole in the bucket to engage the switch lever F Here again the material piles up in the bucket to operate the switch to start the hoisting motor.

All of the arrangements above disclosed have one essential factor in common, namely, the switch is controlled by some kind of a member. It may be a swinging plate, it may be a push button, flexible diaphragm or anything else which feels the effect of the pressure or impact of the material when a sufficient quantity of material has piled up into the bucket or backed up into the chute so that the bucket or skip is filled. Only when material has come in to this extent does this sensitive membeivfeel the effect of the material and when it does feel it then and then only is it displaced to close the switch to start the bucket hoisting motor.

Of course, a device such as this does not many way interfere with the ordinary push button control and it can even be arranged .in connection with a normal and predetermined time control if that is desirable.

My invention concerns itself only with what happens at the filling end of the bucket or skip excursion. While it may perhaps happen that under some conditions it takes longer to dump the skip than it does to fill it, myinvcntion by reducing to a minimum the time necessary to delay the skip for filling makes possible a closer, more rapid method of control. If it should happen that the dumping was the longer of the two actions, no harm would-be done and my control method would still be equally valuable as it would enablethe designer to dismiss to some extent from his hand the time factor involving the loading of the skip.

I have used the word bulk in a number of places in the specification and, claim and it must be understood that I have used it in the strict sense distinguishing bulk or volume from weight. My control is responsive to the bulk or volume of material as distinguished from the mass or weight of material.

I claim:

The combination with a skip hoist; includig-a movable bucket, a combined pivoted chute and gate adapted at one point in the bucket path to discharge material thereinto and'adapted in response to movement of the bucket away from the filling position to be rotated thereby to shut off the flow of material; of control means comprising a switch, and a switch operating member mounted in permanent relation to each other on the chute at a point above the path of flowing material in the chute the operating member being adapted to be displaced by the pressure of material as it banks up in the chute after the bucket is filled, to ionerate the switch and thereby cause movement of the bucket away from the filling point, there being a permanent electrical connection between the switch and the bucket operating mechanism. a

Signed at Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, this 15th day of January,

. WILLIAM w, SAYERS. 

